


Tender Heart

by Dreamin



Series: Heart of Stone [3]
Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: F/M, Greek Mythology AU, Secret Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-17
Updated: 2019-02-17
Packaged: 2019-10-30 03:07:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 963
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17820644
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dreamin/pseuds/Dreamin
Summary: Mycroft has a special message for Molly on Valentine's Day.





	Tender Heart

**Author's Note:**

  * For [afteriwake](https://archiveofourown.org/users/afteriwake/gifts).



> I'm writing the rest of the series a bit out of order, starting with this one. This takes place a few months after _Heart of Ice_.

Molly Hooper jerked awake as her elbow slipped off the edge of her desk and the hand she had been leaning her head on dropped. “Ugh…” She was about to get back to her paperwork when she saw something on her desk that hadn’t been there before – a Wedgwood crystal vase with over two dozen roses in assorted colors. A quick count proved the number to be an even thirty – two yellow roses, three red, six orange, nine white, and ten pink. She found a small envelope tucked in among the stems. After carefully retrieving it, she removed the card.

_Dearest Molly,_

_I hope the language of flowers isn’t one you have forgotten._

_Mycroft_

She chuckled, thinking about the time she told him over dinner one evening that she had learned and forgotten many languages over the millennia, the only ancient languages she retained being Latin and her native Greek. Molly looked over the flowers again, thinking back to her time in the Victorian Era. _They had meanings for every flower and even every rose color, but something tells me Mycroft would consult a modern list._

Pulling out her mobile, she did a quick search for flower meanings. The third site she tried made her eyes widen and she looked at the bouquet again. _Is … is he saying what I think he’s saying?_ Calling his mobile got her nothing but his voicemail box. _He must be in a meeting, it’ll have to wait. But why would he send me roses today? It’s not my birthday._ One glance at the calendar had her burying her head in her hands, groaning.

 _How could I forget Valentine’s Day? A martyr’s feast day turned into the most commercialized day of the year._ She raised her head, her eyes wide as another thought struck her. _Is he expecting something in return? It’s after six, I don’t have time to shop before dinner. I’ll just have to tell him I forgot._

Once her shift was over, she was walking out of Bart’s with her bouquet and was about to hail a cab when she saw a familiar black sedan with tinted windows. The driver quickly got out and opened the door for her then held the bouquet as she got in before handing it back to her and closing the door.

Molly smiled sheepishly at the car’s other occupant. “Thank you for these, Mycroft, but I didn’t get you anything.”

Mycroft chuckled. “It’s quite alright, my dear. Since you’ve never mentioned the holiday, I assumed you don’t celebrate it, but I couldn’t let it pass without acknowledging it.”

She looked at the flowers for a moment before turning back to him. “The meanings-”

“Let’s wait until we’re alone,” he murmured, inclining his head towards the driver.

Molly nodded then finally took a moment to smell the roses before she relaxed against the seat, smiling softly. “You did well,” she murmured.

“Thank you, darling,” he murmured as he leaned to kiss her hair.

* * *

It wasn’t until they were seated at one end of his dining room table with plates of fettuccine alfredo that she brought up the flowers again. Molly looked over at the bouquet, which was on the table just within reach, then back at Mycroft, who was looking at her curiously.

“Just so we understand each other,” she said softly, “I take it the number of each color is as significant as the color itself?”

He nodded, smiling a bit. “Let’s see if your flower dictionary is as good as mine.”

Molly chuckled. “Two yellow roses – a shared and deep friendship.”

“I like to think that’s what we have built.”

“It is,” she assured him. “After so many centuries alone, it’s nice to have someone I can truly be myself with. Three red roses – ‘I love you.’”

“Something you already knew,” he murmured, smiling softly. They had first exchanged those words of affection months before.

She smiled back. “Something I will always cherish. Nine white roses – eternal purity?”

“There is a purity of heart to you that no one, not even the gods, can take away,” he said gently.

Molly felt her eyes well up with sudden tears and a lump forming in her throat. She did her best to clear it before moving on. “Ten pink roses – perfect admiration?”

He nodded. “Your perseverance, your bravery, your determination, so many things I admire about you.” He paused before reaching out to gently take her hand in his. “You forgot a color.”

“No,” she murmured, “I saved it for last because it’s the most … significant right now, I believe. Six orange roses – you want me as your … lover?”

“More than anything, my dear, but only if you want it as well. I would never pressure you into anything you didn’t want to do.”

She nodded, gently squeezing his hand. “I know, Mycroft. I just … it’ll take time to think of myself as a wholly sexual being again after so long.” She smiled softly. “Your kisses have helped in that regard, I might add.”

He chuckled softly. “Happy to be of service.” He raised her hand to his mouth and softly kissed her knuckles. “You know I will wait as long as it takes. Your comfort is paramount, Molly.”

She smiled softly, relaxing. “Thank you, my love.” She leaned over to kiss his cheek. “I will tell you when I’m ready to take that step. In the meantime, I believe you have a new movie for us to watch?”

Mycroft smiled a bit. “‘New’ is a relative term since the movie is decades old and one, I believe, you have already seen – _The Ghost and Mrs. Muir_.”

“One of my favorites,” she said, smiling, then she rose. “Lead the way.”

He rose then offered her his arm. “Gladly, my dear.”


End file.
